By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Friday, January 30, the Port Isabel Early College HS powerlifting teams traveled to Brownsville to compete in the IDEA Riverview Meet of Champions 2026 meet.
The boy’s division featured 104 lifters from 14 teams competing teams. Although the boys’ team had two lifters that “bombed out” in Arnold Lopez and Ivan Gomez, the remaining lifters managed to secure a 4th place team standing.
Competing in the 181-weight class, Eric Gonzalez won 1st place with a total lift of 1435 pounds (bench:540, Bench:365, Dead Lift:530), picking up his second gold medal in as many meets. He improved his total lift by a whopping 125 pounds and he is currently ranked #4 in the region. Also in the same weight class, Miguel Arano came in 5th place with a total lift of 430lbs, a new personal best.
In the 198-weight class, Joe Perez won bronze with a total lift of 1425lbs and is currently ranked #3 in the region. Right behind Perez were PI lifters Michael Finona (4th, 1320lbs) and Jesus Hill Jr (5th, 1255lbs).
A one-point difference separated the top three teams in the boys’ standings, with Harlingen edging out Harlingen South and Lyford in a tightly contested finish.
Meanwhile in the girl’s division featured the same field, but saw a massive 127 competitors participate.
PI’s Saturn Trejo continued her dominance in the 165-weight class by winning the gold medal with a total lift of 1015 pounds, just 5lbs shy of her personal best. Trejo maintained her #2 regional ranking.
In the 123-weight class, Maria Ale Vasquez claimed the class title with total lift of 835 pounds, a personal best. It was Vasquez first time winning gold this season and she is now ranked #3 in the region. Isabella Betancourt who was right behind Vasquez earned the silver with a total lift of 720lbs.
Other results included, Daniela Alonso (148-wt, 3rd), Brigette Montes (181-wt, 3rd), Iyairy Guzman (242-wt, 2nd), and Dariadna Garcia (181-wt, 4th).
The top three order of finish in the girl’s division was, 1. Edcouch-Elsa, 2. Port Isabel, and 3. Harlingen.
Although, some lifters did not finish or were scratched from the competition, powerlifting head coach, Mark Calvillo, continued his optimism about his program. “We had some good results, and totals are improving. So, I’m very pleased”, said coach Calvillo.
The next upcoming powerlifting meet will be the Rio Hondo Bobcats Invitational taking place this Thursday, February 5th.
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